Her Only Comfort
by StarLush
Summary: Mulder offers Scully comfort and open arms. Post Milagro fluff. Awww
1. Chapter 1

**I don't normally write fluffy cuteness but I would give it a try. I was searching for ideas and this came to mind. Post Milagro! **

**I own none of the characters or X-Files shows but enjoy letting my imagination do the wandering. ENJOY!**

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Padgett had done a number on her mentally, she felt violated, unnerved and confused. The only person she ever wanted to know her as deeply as he did was Mulder. Never in her entire life had Scully felt as vulnerable as she did that night in Mulder's apartment. There was something utterly comforting just having him hold her as he did, thinking that she had died, Mulder's heart hit the ground when he saw her covered in blood. Then when her eyes popped open and she was so terrified and hysterical, he couldn't help but be her only comfort.

Hours later upon returning from the hospital, being checked out for excessive blood loss and any open wounds, Scully wanted nothing more than Mulder at her side. The comfort that he had always offered her, especially when she was sick or injured always seemed to make her ten times better.

Lying on the couch with him staring blankly at the TV screen while the movie they had put in was almost at an end, her eyes wandering up to the ceiling where she had fired shots into apparent nothingness. Mulder was dozing; his arm draped around her waist, there was comfort in that, knowing their relationship had taken them this far and there was nothing sexual about it. He would do anything for her and she knew it.

Stirring slightly, mainly needing to stretch her legs, her body hurt from the intrusion that it had apparently suffered. She felt achy, very much like being sick. Mulder's arm tightened around her waist and hip and she was getting slightly uncomfortable at his comfortableness with it. Though deep down she needed his touch and relished his insistence of her staying with him tonight.

"You ok, Scully?" his eyes still closed slightly.

"Yeah, just need to stretch out a bit…" barely whispering.

"You are more than willing to sleep in the bed," he offered, knowing she would be much more comfortable there, being able to roll and stretch when needed.

"Mulder, I couldn't imp—"sighing as he looked at her with pure truth in his eyes, she was never able to say 'no' to his gaze.

"Go ahead, I can snag you a t-shirt and you can make yourself comfy." He wanted nothing more than for her to have a shoulder to cry on if she needed. He wanted to be at her beck and call, taking care of her. She was so small and frail when feeling poorly he wanted to be her rock and for her to be his when needed. Letting loose his grip, she rose and stretched her legs out in front of her. Mulder in a semi sleeping state rose from the couch and made his way to the bathroom first and then rummaging through his laundry found a shirt for Scully that didn't smell too awfully bad. Scully had gotten up and was waiting in the door way to the bedroom as he grabbed the cleaner of his shirts and handed it to her.

"Here ya go…" he was extremely tired and Scully could tell by his slurring of words.

"Thank you," she said, staring into his sleepy eyes, "I really appreciate you letting me stay here." Scully stood up on her tip toes and gave Mulder a kiss on the cheek out of sheer appreciation.

"I just wanted to make sure you were going to be ok, Scully—"he couldn't spill any more tonight. He didn't want to overload her brain with a love confession. Mulder had already gotten his when they were speaking with Padgett in the prison cell, he couldn't believe it when he heard it but when Scully got uncomfortable shortly thereafter, he knew her love was for him. Giving her a loving hug and a little kiss on her head, Mulder set back out to the living room to doze for awhile.

Scully made her way to the bathroom off the side of the bedroom and stared at herself in the mirror a long while. It had been quite an evening, usual testing at the hospital and the look of confusion upon the doctors' faces when they realized she was ok but covered in her own blood. Laughing a little at the thought of it she turned serious again. _I know he loves me and I'm sure he knows now that I am in love with him, why can't we seem to move forward?_ She was confused and tired and knew in the morning she would have a better understanding of her feelings towards the situation. _He was so insistent on letting me stay here with him. Giving me his bed out of pure love and tenderness I suppose._ Undressing herself, she knew she might feel a little more relaxed after a hot shower. Her neck was still slightly stained with blood as she examined it carefully. Confusing and crazy as the entire case had been, Scully had never been more terrified of dying, that was not a way she ever imagined she'd die. When fighting cancer she had the understanding of _why_ she was dying but she didn't know when, cancer was not a murder or accident; it was a slow, painful and emotionally draining sickness to go through.

Turning on the water and realizing she had not grabbed a fresh towel and figured after the day she had she would settle for the one that smelled of Mulder. She had always loved the smell of him, even after a run, he smelled all of male and she knew it was only a matter of time before she got to smell more of him in different ways. Stepping under the spray of the shower and letting the water run on her naked flesh, soaking up the hot moisture she desperately needed on her abused body. She couldn't wash her hair unless she wanted a smell like a man so she opted for a good rinse and condition instead. Scully knew she didn't have any female toiletries at his house so she would have to settle for dry skin and weird hair in the morning. Letting the water run cold, Scully turned off the shower and reached out for a towel, she hadn't heard the bathroom door open but Mulder was standing there with a fresh towel ready to wrap around her.

"Mulder!" she tried to be a little modest and cover herself up with hands, he turned his gaze away from her and she snagged the towel from him wrapping herself quickly. She knew he had seen her in a semi naked state before but this situation was different, it wasn't life or death or decontamination.

"Sorry Scully, I didn't want you to use that towel…it's –"

"Its fine, I'm sorry you really scared me, I thought you'd be fast asleep." Her heart still pumping, "can I get dressed without you looking?" she was being slightly sarcastic, after all he was being extremely kind opening his home to her.

"Yeah but I do have something for you." Mulder reached into the cabinet in the bathroom and grabbed a bottle of lotion, a bottle of Scully's brand lotion. "I always keep this here, you know just in case. I know how you are with skin care and whatnot so—"he was really going the extra mile here and she didn't know whether to be suspicious or grateful. Looking at him, mainly wanting him to give her some space to get dried off and changed, he took the hint and moseyed his way back to the bedroom closing the bathroom door behind him.

Scully was very touched at his kindness that she didn't know what to think of him anymore. _He's probably just worried._ Taking a moment to lotion her legs, arms and chest she let it soak up for a moment before throwing on the t-shirt he had given her, it smelled of him and she relished it. It was a calming smell for her, no matter the situation he was her comfort and he had always been.

Emerging from the bathroom, Scully saw Mulder sitting on the bed, looking like he wanted to talk about something.

"What's up, Mulder?" she was starting to feel slightly more worried about him at this point.

"I just want to make sure you are going to be ok. It was quite an ordeal you went through, I—Scully, I just—I just need to know you are going to be ok." He was honest and pure in his intentions. No funny business. They had been partners for 6 years now and really had grown to genuinely care for each other. Smiling purely at his kindness, she couldn't have asked for a better partner, they meshed well, had some connection that no one could every match. There was comfort in knowing she was safe with him no matter the situation.

"I'll be fine, I really just need to sleep…" after the shower deep relaxation took her over and she wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and sleep until noon the next day. Mulder rose to take his leave to the couch, "…you don't have to leave—I could use the company." Looking into her tired eyes he could tell that she really didn't want him to leave. She shuffled in her stance a little bit not sure how he would react, he was nervous, he'd had thoughts about his partner for a few years now but he never thought it would be under these circumstances. _Maybe she just really doesn't want to be alone. Could I blame her? After that creeper, told her more about herself than she knew…_

"Just let me go shut off the lights and TV, I'll be back in a minute." Walking out of the bedroom and leaving Scully to make herself comfortable in bed, Mulder almost couldn't contain his excitement. Being able to be with Scully in this way made him feel alive and warm on the inside, knowing he was being her only comfort, made him finally feel needed and wanted.

Walking quietly back to the bedroom, seeing that Scully had already made herself comfortable in a fetal position facing the outside window. He wondered if she was already asleep as she barely moved when he came into the room. Mulder removed his jeans and t-shirt and hoped Scully would be ok with him sleeping in his boxer shorts, he debated for a moment then found his pajama bottoms and replaced boxers with those instead. Slipping into the bed as slowly and smoothly as he could he made himself comfortable and wiggled is way closer to Scully, who as it turned out was already asleep. Inching closer he wrapped his arm around her waist and she instinctively scooted backwards into his open arms. Mulder could smell her lotion and the fresh clean body that was untainted by make-up and oils and perfumes, it was all Scully, her natural smell. _God, Scully if I could only tell you how much I love you._ Snuggling into her hair and breathing in deep he kissed her head and soon dozed off into a peaceful slumber.


	2. Chapter 2

**After twisting my arm here is another chapter but that's really all for this story. :-D Enjoy! **

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'_AHHHH!' Scully was pinned to the floor and nothing could be worse than the pain she felt that very moment, she could feel her heart beating in the hands of a mad-man. _

'_Please…please…nooooo….' She was panting for air, she couldn't breathe, and her life had never felt as significant as it did this very moment as she felt the hand tug at her heart. Bloody, messy and excruciating. Looking down, she saw her heart, beating in a bloody hand, looking up to face her attacker she saw Mulder, his face showing fear and confusion as he held her still beating heart in his hand, clutching it with all his might until it might explode. Tears streaming down his face, apologetic and worried, she stared wide eyed in terror as he brought her heart to his mouth as to drink the blood pouring out of it…_

…"Scully, Scully….wake up…SCULLY…." Mulder was trying his hardest to wake his sleeping partner. She was obviously having a nightmare. Scully had been panting and screaming in her sleep, Mulder swore he heard his neighbors pounding on the floor, ceiling and walls. He had to wake her, she was crying and panicked and he didn't really know what to do. Scully had told him the dangers of waking someone in the middle of a nightmare; one or both parties could end up hurt. Though he was so worried about her he had to try.

"Come on….Scully, come back to me…" he tried to rub her back, she had fallen asleep in the fetal position and stayed that way most of the night. It was an obvious comfort position, her way of hiding herself from all the evil through work and life. Mulder wanted nothing more than to wrap his body more tightly around her. He felt her breathing slow and her screams had dissipated, her eyelids fluttered and he saw they were still filled with tears; she was sweaty from the activeness her nightmare had caused her. He soothed her by rubbing her back more, getting her to calm down as she awoke.

"Hey….you ok…?" he asked her, careful not to scare her any more than she already was.

"Yeah—yeah I'm fine." Scully was always 'fine.' Rolling his eyes at her comment he offered further comfort for her.

"You wanna talk about it?" Mulder was really worried about her and thought that him being there would be enough to comfort her. Her ordeal must've really struck a nerve, he had not seen her completely vulnerable since her savage encounter with Donnie Pfaster and that was years ago it seemed, he was scared for her then and scared for her now. It took a lot to unnerve Dana Scully, she always seemed to have no weakness but there were a few things that got to her and this happened to be one of them.

Scully shook her head and turned around in Mulder's arms, burying her face into his chest she cried. Her dream had caused her to think about her feelings for Mulder more. _Why would he take my heart? Let alone taste it? I know he is concerned but this is too much. _

"I should go…" she stammered out quietly. She didn't know why she wanted to leave him so bad but she really felt the need to leave him, get into her own environment and gather herself. Rolling back to her other side Scully went to retreat the bed but Mulder wouldn't let her go, his arm tight around her waist.

"Mulder, please let me go…" she pleaded with him.

"Dammit, Scully, why do you have to do this? Why do you have to pretend to be so strong? I can see you are disturbed by this, why can't you let me comfort you? You can tell me it's wrong, that we shouldn't be doing this but—dammit Scully we've played this game for so long! I love you, is that ok? I want to comfort you, I told you once that you made me a whole person and there is no way I can deny that now. Being able to be here for you when you truly need it and you just push me away…" he let go of her, anger welled within his heart.

"Mulder—" she was trying her hardest to make him understand. She stilled her retreat not sure how to respond to him in the least.

"Just go, if that's what you want." He was mad and confused, his heart ached for her and wanted to be her shoulder but she always seemed to push him away.

Scully swiftly got out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom slamming the door; Mulder swore she had begun to cry again. Getting out of bed he made his way to the bathroom door and listened…she sobbed. _God I'm an asshole._ _I know her, I know this is how she is why should I be surprised that she pushes me away._

Scully was crying hard and uncontrollably, she was grateful she had locked the door. She knew Mulder would try to come to her rescue again. She sensed him standing outside the door and banged on it loudly with her fist, hopefully giving him the hint to go away.

They kept their space for a good 20 minutes, not talking, not even seeing each other, both obviously needing the space. Mulder was out on his couch, no TV, contemplating in silence, _how can I be so insensitive when she is hurt so badly?_ Scully was more frightened than anything else, she knew her and Mulder's relationship would get to this point but she wasn't prepared for it, it would complicate things, it'd be suspicious enough her staying at his house the entire night. Gazing into the mirror, her eyes swollen from crying her face and neck freckled from the hysteria of her nightmare, she looked absolutely terrible, _if Mulder can tell me he loves me when I look this terrible that must mean something._ Debating for a moment on how to move forward, Scully emerged from the bathroom and padded her way through the bedroom and into the living room, Mulder was sitting in his spot on the couch, arms behind him, in deep thought.

"Mulder…?" he turned his gaze towards her as she spoke, "I really don't know where to go from here—I—what really caught me off guard was the fact that I was in your bed with your arms wrapped around me…" she was honest, it was a strange feeling, having him touch her in that way, intimate but not wanting, just safe. "I was scared at where we are going…I'm not prepared for all that right now… you know now that I do reciprocate your feelings of love..." she made her way to the couch and sat very close to him, grabbing for his hand she was honest and true in her heart. "I'm just not quite ready for all that yet ok?...there are a few things I need to get figured out about myself first." Her infertility still plagued her wandering mind, the need for a companion, what her colleagues would think…her mother.

Leaning in, once again gaining his trust, Scully brought her lips to his and she kissed him with such tenderness, it took Mulder a minute to realize that he should kiss back a bit. Softly caressing her lips with his own, he was the first to pull back.

"That was a promise ok?" she looked deep into him, he knew by her look that she would be back for him in this way. They would be able to make this work but she had to figure some things out first. "I'll stay for the night but watch your wandering hands, Mulder." She teased him lightly and he grinned.

"I'll sleep out here… you can have the bed." He still insisted, he was so used to sleeping on his couch he almost couldn't sleep comfortably in his bed and with someone else there, the last thing he wanted to do was sleep. Giving her hand a comforting squeeze he kissed her cheek and bid her goodnight. Smiling at him she sauntered off into the bedroom, _alone again, Dana…why can't you just let it happen…_

Lying in the bed Scully could hear Mulder snoring quietly, _probably because he's elevated funny, _the doctor always came out in her when she thought about these things. It was a slight comfort to her, why she ever really gave up her career in medicine she would never know. Maybe it was fate after all, her meeting Mulder, them getting close, it's all biological.

Waking with a start several hours later, eyeballing the clock in Mulder's bedroom it read 10am. Leaping out of bed and to the bathroom, gathering herself and making her way out to the living room, she was greeted by Mulder holding out a cup of coffee.

"Scully, I'm sorry I didn't wake you and I guess I should have warned you but I took the liberty of calling Skinner and explaining that we wouldn't be at work today. I figured you could use the rest and he completely understood….and agreed."

"Mulder! I'm fine!" she exclaimed through clenched teeth. "I can't believe you didn't wake me earlier." She was upset and panicked.

"Here…" handing her the cup of coffee, the apartment smelled of coffee and food and she was very suspicious all the sudden. "I made breakfast too." She raised her eyebrow at him, questioning his motives. Calming herself she obliged him and followed him to the table where he had laid out eggs, bacon and of course considering whom he was dining with, some yogurt with some fresh fruit.

"You went shopping I see…" she laughed a little bit.

"Yeah well, I didn't want you to starve, I'd feel like a terrible host!" he was sincere and slightly sarcastic in his comments.

"Well, thanks I guess. But I still think I could have made it to work today." She explained quietly to him while picking apart a strip of bacon.

"I just didn't want you to worry. Scully whatever happened to you was terrifying and I didn't want you to pretend to be strong when you want nothing more than to relax and have the thoughts and memories blow over."

They were silent for several minutes, Scully trying to absorb it all not sure what Mulder was thinking in making her breakfast and calling in sick to work for the both of them. She pondered his actions wondering what he expected her to do all day, stay with him or go home.

"So what's on the agenda then?" she inquired.

"I dunno, I'd assume you'd want to go home and get showered and changed…look Scully I'm not insisting you stay here with me, I just figured you'd want some time to sort yourself out."

Finishing up breakfast and Scully helping Mulder clean up the few dishes they had made. Silence was golden right? It was already feeling awkward and nothing had even happened between them. Each of their minds was working in over time figuring out how all this ever transpired. Scully leaned against the counter watching Mulder dry the last of the dishes and put them away. Catching her gaze out of the corner of his eye he looked at her and grinned, she had a smirk across her face and was oblivious to the fact. Shaking herself out of a daze and walking over to Mulder she embraced him almost intimately and he embraced her as well, wrapping his long arms around her tiny body.

"Thank you so much, for everything…" she whispered into his neck and shoulder area. She didn't want to let him go, she loved the way he smelled, the way he cared for her and took care of her in a time of need. Mulder hated withdrawing from the embrace but felt it necessary, especially for them to hold out for a better time. Walking her to the door and helping her with her coat, his hand drifted to her lower back as it often did when out together on cases, Scully turned and looked at him in a silent 'thank you again.' Stretching up to him she planted a simple and promising kiss on his lips, turned and made her way out the door. Shutting the door behind his partner Mulder felt hurt letting her go but at the same time understood that she needed to sort things out for herself. _Our time will come, Scully. I promise you that. _


End file.
